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""'the SflNFfiffiibA'? 'M&miim Wvna.
CLUB DES CENT PRESERVING REAL FRENCH CUISINE
afiQsn
The extraordinary letter of
One Hundred Patriotic Frenchmen Who
Are Engaged in Perpetuating the
Glory of Little Country Inn
n ni.AxniF. mpmam s.
I HAD heard nbout It vaguely le-,
fore, Imt it was a smalt Inn keeper
In tlii- Seine Valley, at one of those
picturesque places in this charm
ing old French province of Normandy,
wlic let me into the real secret of tho
organization.
"Don't tell any one," he said, at the
name time taking a blanket sheet of a
letter out of his breast pocket as we
We shall not be
sat on the terrace in front of his modest
hostelry, before whose doors the soft
flowing Seine wound Its silvery folds,
nnd spread it out before me "least of
all your own countrymen," he went on
mysteriously; "it Is just they who must
lie headed off. If this should get out
I should 'je put on the blacklist: as it
is" and he swelled with pride and
.-poke in capitals "1 am in Their 'Llvre
d'or.'
"Mais, volla: look; read," and fold
ing ids aims he leaned hack and nearly
bursting with Importance watched me
decipher what at first glance appeared
to be a reproduction of a page scrawled
in a school child's copybook. It was
a, weird document In the form of a let
ter from the secretary of the celebrated
and mysterious Club des Cent ordering
commanding, it might be more proper
to say- a dinner for a certain date and
for a certain number of members.
One should be able to hear the cackle of the hen All we insist upon is a wash basin larger than a teacup and Maids should have
while eating an egg. more than a thimbleful of water to go with it. combed hair.
I remember having met In rambles
about the French countrysido on sev
eral occasions a large and costly auto
mobile fib d with a large and expen
sively arni d party, presided over by
h portly go Mcman, who dropped Into
some little country Inn where we hap
pened ourselves to be staying. Their
arrival was entirely without ostenta
tion, with none of the frivolity of tho
passing tourist, without comments,
kicks or suggestions all signs of some
thing unusuul for a Frenchman en voy
age, lor tney are tne greatest Kics.ers
In the touring fraternity of Kurope.
These meekly took what was put be
fore them at table d'hote, ate it with
out comment, but critically, paid the bill
without even lifting un eyebrow, tipped
without a murmur, but darted keen eyes
about them all the while and piled into
their big nutomoblle nnd departed as or
derly and silently as they had urrlved.
You might, however, have noticed
across the hood of their automobile In
modest brass characters the words
"Club des Cent," and If you were in
formed you would Immediately make a
note mentally that here was a mem
ber of the most exclusive touring club
In the world out on a voyage of Inspec
tion und Investigation on his own.
The Club dcs- Cent is a strictly lim
ited edition of a hundred members, all
Frenchmen who adorn high and re
sponsible pluces, grave, dignlfled gen
tlemen In whoso buttonholes Is usually
In be seen tho red rosotto of the Le
gion of Honor and who are endowed
with a high percentage of wealth
"lea grands aportamanB," as tho
French mutilate tho phrase. All nro
fervent automoblllsts, for It Is this
utlllturlun machine that haa made U
possible for them to undertake tho
Kood and patriotic work In which they
are engaged, that of saving from ob
livion tho llttlo hotels of the French
countryside, of preserving tho only
true French culslno from decadence,
especially to take under their protec
tion those traditional dlshea of France
the Club dcs Cent.
which have made her culinary glory
and reputation
And whn are these patriots engaged
on such an exalted mission? Well, the
Karon dc Siuylen. president of tho
Automobile Oluli de France, Is one en
thusiast who sees In the Club des
Cent another way of continuing the
good work of his association. There
Is Abel Ilallff, president of the Touring
Club de France, the 'organization
which has done more than any other
for the can f tourlsme in France.
roasted.
Looking
The Marquis de Dion, who knows
something about a good auUimobile
and what Its owner wants on the road.
Is another. The Chevalier Rene de
Knyff is a member, while portly M.
Surcouf, president of the Aero Club de
France, Is the president of the Club
des Cent and one of Its most Inde
fatigable motoring members. Men of af
fairs, actors, musicians, artists anil
bankers are all represented.
And this is the philanthropic work
of the Club des Cent. The members
have pledged themselves to spend
their vacations, week ends and spare
touting time exploring the remotest
corners of the French countryside, act
lug as motor scouts to discover un
known little wayside inns; to rescue
the deserving little country hotel from
its ambiguous position of a poor re
lation to the big tourist hotel and to
inspire the keeper of tilt small hotel
to live up to the glorious traditions
of the real French cuisine.
Unlike most automobile tourists the
members of the club are not after
scenery nor antiquities, but the right
kind of reception at the local hotel.
They are not looking for tango teas,
but properly made breakfast coffee; It
Is not a gilded and brocaded salle a
manger for which they are searching
but a characteristically good and well
planned menu.
"All that we ask," says the distin
guished gentleman with the red rosette,
"is that the dining room shall not be
an aerodrome for flies," as lie throws a
searching glance around the simply
furnished salle a manger, with one long
table and chairs to match down either
side.
The club does not even insist that a
bath tub shall bo an attribute, know
ing that this is usually beyond the ca
pacity, If not tho comprehension, of
many a deserving little place, but only
a wash basin larger than- n tea cup and
something more thun u thimbleful of
wuter to go with It.
The voyage of exploration over, the
member returns with his Information
for tho archives of tho club, If he re
ports that there are possibilities In a
certain hotel: that the landlord Is chef
as we'd for tills is the combination that
still produces the best food In France
If he seems nmenablo to guidance und
worthy of lielng taken under tho pat
ronage of tho Club des Cent, one day
or another the patron of that llttlo Inn
wll receive one of those curious letters
like the one which was put before me.
It will crder a dinner for a nearby
date, which Is to cost neither more nor
less than five francs, one dollar, of the
best the country affords at the season.
No fancy dishes are wanted, iu copies
of I'aris rarities; it must be composed
only of the dishes for which tho par
ticular part of France Is noted. This
la the real Joy and distinction of the
French cuisine that these locn. dlshea
Members of the Club des Cent exploring
r
are to be had In France In a greater
variety than in any other land.
It Is not only that Hurgundy has Its
snails, Bordeaux Its truffles, Normandy
Its cheese, Toulouse Its cussoulcts,
Hreese its fowls and Marseilles Its
bouillabaisse, but France Is still further
gastronomlcally subdivided so that
nearly every little community boasts of
a dish peculiarly its own and whose
recipe its good cooks have handed down
from father to son. To preserve these
national treasures is the real ambition
of these touring philanthropists.
On the appointed day tho party de
scend on the chosen hotel. It may be
only one or two well tilled automobiles,
fur tho club members travel in small
groups, as a rule, in family parties, too,
not tho other kind. All is done very
discreetly and without fuss, for the
whole scheme Is that of gathering
up his rating in sauces. It's not
specialized Information for and to be
acted on by the club alone.
"We can't let am:, to urn take a hand
In the work; they are too Impulsive,"
says the Club des Cent,
Having eaten the repast with dis
crimination they take note as to how
much attention has )cen paid to the
Instructions In their letter and the fate
of the landlord Is decided.
I did my best to wheedle the letter of
the club out of our friend the Innkeeper,
but he clung to it as if It was a diploma
of merit, a certificate of character and
a breeder of coupons, as Indeed It wan,
He expected to frame it nnd hang it on
the wall that it might descend as a
family heirloom. It was only grudg
ingly that he permitted me, and then
only under his eye, to jot down what
I did.
Ilele then ale tin- maxims of the
Club des Cent, which are printed helter
skelter In brown freehand script, zig
zag here and there around the margin
of the advisory letter which was sent
out by a member of the club. Each
one of these letters Is numbered, to
impress upon the hotel keeper that
these favors are not lightly and lav
ishly bestowed.
Ostentation is a thing despised by
this patriotic band with but a dual
thought a good menl for themselves
and for the good of their country. Thus
the first hint stands out conspicuously:
CAUTION.
A good hotel keeper should be discreet.
We have struck from our list one who
once brought out the town band to wel
come a distinguished member of the Club
des Cent. Every tourist, even the most
notorious, has the light to a little quiet
on his holiday.
The letter In a modest footnote ex
plains "the Club des Cent recruited
from the elite of the world of politics,
of commerce, of art and of letters."
Then to Impress the hotel keeper, who
may hove Just received his first letter,
that they liavo not Just bought an auto
mobile und are net coming out for the
first time, they say:
"To qualify for membership In the
Club dcs Cent each member must have
toured by automobile not lesn than
forty thousand kllomctcrj some
twenty-five thousand miles, that Is to
say, over a road equal In length to tho
tour of tho world. Tho Club dcs Cent
ulso keeps a general oversight on the
rouds of France."
Then they put on record their policy.
"The Club des Cent asks no favors
from hotel keepers. They ask for no
reduction In price. They ask for no
credit."
From behind this unassailable post
tlon there begins to glint their steely
purpose. "The Club des Cent recom
mends very few hotels because they
only recommend those which are good.
for the retiring little country hotel. A" we ttsk ,or. in a dininS room is that it shall
not be an aerodrome for Hies.
A good hotel Is one which corresponds
to the Ideal of the Club dcs Cent."
In the left hand corner of the letter
Is this:
"Hotel keepers, remember that we
can enrich you. Hut serve us badly
nnd It will be so much the worse for
you. Make us pay any price you
choose; we are not mean nnd we will
In return make possible a good living
for you. Hut we are firmly resolved
not to be roasted HOASTED
It O A S T K D ! ! !"
They then proceed to drop hints down
both margins of the letter as to their
ideal of n good country hotel to which
they propose to give their patronage.
They will not be put off with u super
ficial display; their special aim Is to
rescue front oblivion the little hotel of
'the "patron chef" which perpetuates.
tango teas we are looking for, but
the best tradition of the French country
hotel:
THE IDEAL HOTEL.
The club especially favors the adequate
little hotels where they are run by the
lnoprietor himself. At a good hotel one
Is lecelvid by the proprietor. One often
iiietts a good proprietor, but raiely a good
manager.
It is the "patron chef" who wears a
white cap and Jacket and Immaculate
apron, who comes straight from his
kitchen, saucespoon in hand to welcome
his guests warmly in good old French
countiy hotel style, who brings with
him the odor of good food from the
great hooded chimney with Its battery
of copper utensils, that these gentle
men are searching for, nnd having
found him, they set out to instruct him
as to the best Investment of his time
and money. These Club dcs Cent mem
bers are not to be Judged by externals;
notice this In the left hand upper corner
of their letterhead:
"We have no special affection for
Grand Palace hotels and othe
barracks of gilt nnd satin and mahog
any when this magnificence Is paid for
by the use of chemicals In the kitchen,
nor do we set our seal upon expensive
hotels of any class where their luxury
is obtained as a result of the skimping
of the food. We eat beefsteaks, not
Louis Quinze chairs."
The ilub wants It to be understood
that It Is not expensive kickshaws but
simple comfort that It expects from the
small French hotel.
"In a hotel bedroom there are five
luxuries, none of which is very costly
cleanliness, fresh air, light, large and
comfortable beds and a lot of water.
(Jive us first, hotelier, neatness, good
food well cooked, clean linen, and after
that any other luxury that you can
afford."
A final touch of advice about the fur
nishing of a hotel they do not consider
out of place:
' Huy all your furniture In your own
section of tho country. If your hotel Is
In Hrlttany furnish It with picturesque
Hreton furniture nnd pottery; if in Nor
mandy adorn your salles with artistic
old Norman furniture. Keep your par
ticular brand of local color, which will
not only show your patriotism but your
good taste, A bus tho products of the
Universal Ilazaar, which mako your
hotel look llko an International crazy
quilt."
A llttlo further down the sheet I read
the real mission of the club, tho revival
and conservation of the true French
cuisine, a point of view that should be
of Interest to housekeepers puzzling
over the food problem. This club will
not be put off with excuses about the
high cost of living:
cuibini.
The Club des Cent demands the true
and .excellent French cuisine at all times.
Imitations cannot bu foisted off on our
members. This real French cuisine is
accomplished only by the use of flesh
Ingredients, natural products of the re
gion, ficsh vegetables, fresh milk, fresh
butttr. One should bu able to hear the
cackle of the Inn In the back yard when
eating an egg in the country.
Hut little tolerance Is manifested for
the manufactured product, which they
consider beneath the dignity and un
worthy of the Ingenuity of a French
chef, nnd they make a plea for the pot-nu-feu
that simmers always on the
French range.
"The French cuisine that Is the gen
uine nnd patriotic thing ignores en
tirely the extracts made of chemicals
nnd the soups bought in tins and
bottles. A bas the gelatine made of
fish glue. All Jelly made of gelatine is
a eradle of microbes."
These French gourmets believe also
good breakfast coffee.
in the sealed package it may lie no
ticed, and express themselves with
decision on the subject of sauces, those
crown Jewels of French cooking. Their
attention to detail Is remarkable.
"Tlie siilt should be presented in
salt shakers of the 'Ccrebos' genre,
also the pepper, unless more character
istically It be served In the little French
hand grinders. Do nut have the mus
tard caked hard and dry In the mustard
pot this suggests age. Save yourself
the trouble of serving us biscuits or
crackers, except in sealed boxes. Tile
cover of a sugar bowl is made to be
used. We will not stand for sauces
manufactured in a factory. In the
preparation of food the club does not
recognize any other manufactory than
the kitchen."
Space is found In this extraordinary
letter to knock the Frenchman's hered
itary enemy, the (lerman, and their
n n .-s
-s'
r ri
neatly A secluded corner for the
connoisseur.
tourist rivals, the Swiss, In another
marginal note,
"The big, pretentious culslno is not
always a good cuisine; a bas those
schools of cookery Invented in countries
where they know not how to eat. One
docs not learn to be a chef In a uni
versity, with a Greek text book In one
hand nnd a calculus in the other."
They next take a turn, in Italics, at
the coffee, which, In spite of the tradi
tion, Is in France the worst coffee in
the world. And these discerning gen
tlemen know It:
"A good hotel is known by lis cof
fee. Does the coffee bean In nature
grow on the chicory shrub? Hotelier,
take notice: We will not tolerate a
liquid that Is made from anything which
comes out of a package labelled 'cafe
fantasle.' "
And these grave, dlgnitled gentlemen
of the Legion of Honor go on to ex
plain the process of making good cof
fee: "Coffee should be made slowly, with
water which is really boiling, and
should not bo allowed to stand. All
coffee made in advance is bad coffee,"
With tho following article of Its
creed tho club poses the keystone of
tho whole fabric In giving this note of
warning in bold typo all across the
sheet:
"All hotels which do not serve a
dish of repute which is a specialty of
tho region or has not a recipe for
some featuro of Its cuisine and for
which It is entitled to a cordon bleu
Is not worthy of the recommendation
of the Club des Cent."
They crowd in a paragraph on the
good work of elevating tho profession
of cook:
"A chef Is not a day laborer. A chef
who goes about his work like a stone
breaker by the roadside Is not worthy
of his noblo profession.'1 Another foot
note: "One instructs a cook by liav
Ing a discriminating taste oneself In
French cookery."
Even the
Automobile Enthusiasts Explore Coun
tryside Spreading Hotel Maxims
A Good Meal Their Motto
Having disposed of the kitchen they
add n word or two abouAjfie wine
cellar in the lower left haiul corner;
WINK.
tfuy only good nine and baVing I 'ought J
learn now 10 lane cue oi 11. , nome
of wine should be sot bcfoie a guest with
Its labels intact."
Now a scathing remark in large type:
"Any hotelier who will sene a client
with any liquid refreshment In a bottlo
without a label, with the Intent to de
ceive. Is a thief who robs both the inalt- r
and his guests."
We eat beefsteaks, not Louis
It ends with tills delicate hint in
small type:
"The proprietor of a hotel who does
not keep a secluded corner of his wine
cellar for a few choice bottles of old
and rare wines and liqueurs for those
of his guests who are connoisseurs,
may consider his house placed In the
cheap little hole In the wall class."
These touring patriots In their
housekeeping maxims rush in where
woman fears to tread and handle the
servant question without gloves;
"Hoteliers, iinlinns of small hotels,
do not put your waiters In fancy dic.-s
suits which look as though they bad
been used in a football match and are
usually dirty and greasy. Any kind
of clothes are good enough for us If
only clean. What we want to see in
a hotel ;ircoi is immaculate linen,
dean hands and the maids with neitly
combed hair"
Sh! not a word to any one. People preserve antiques, pictures,
&c., why not national dishes?
The following admonition rings Un
patriotic note loud: "Engage your ser
vants from your own neighborhood.
The Club des Cent refuses to stop at a
hotel which employs a personnel with
foreign accents. Our slogan Is French
servants for French hotels; let each
nation struggle with its own."
A good automohlllst Is good to his
chauffeur and these ardent motorists
squeeze on a postscript regarding ills
comfort In one of the few blank spaces
left:
"A chauffeur should not be kept wait
ing for his meals. He should be as well
lecelved as his employer und eat at the
same hour. Tlie hotel keeper who lodges
a chauffeur in any old corner will never
have one of his own."
A final postscript takes care of the
nutomoblle:
"It Is un attenuation of the truth to
speak of a stable that houses a wuiety
of farm animals as a garage suitable
for a costly nutomoblle. Some hotels
make this mistake. We will refer our
tiro bill to the hotel In whose garage we
find pools of oil and clumps of rusty
nails, N. It. Nor will It eer see us
again."
I was still at the little Normandy ho
tel when the parly in tlie big automo
bile urrlved for the dinner which It had
commanded In this remarkable letter:
"Yes; why not?" said the portly gen
tleman of the red rosette us he draped
his napkin diagonally across his ample
circumference nnd tucked nn end Into
his collar. "People preserve antiques,
monuments, cathedrals pictured and
the like; why not national dishes? It
Is quite as merltiouH, n'est ce pas?
"Selfish, are we?" he continued In
surprise, regarding tenderly the famous
caneton Itouenalse of Normandy before
him, ''becauso wo ure confining the
dissemination of this information to our
selves? It only looks that way,
"No, wo must work quietly for a time.
most notorious tourist has a right
to quiet on his vacation.
If the news got out till at once there
Would be a 1 and then the little
hotels would get big notions that they
cannot manage as yet. Ah, and your
delightful Americans, with their fingers
dripping with money, and your extrava
gant bathroom idea, would send the
little hotel man's head whirling like a
top and prices up like a balloon.
"It's all right to let tlletn plod up
the big hotels; It does them good, but
as for the-e little fellows the are not
yet ready for too many Innox ations.
Quinze chairs.
No, wait until we get them in training;
we know Just how much pressure to
put upon them.
"linen n little tiatlenee. l'erhans A
little later when we get the country
ltenmlf.'iut v.io Imiiiu"
'i.a I'atrle" forever for the Freneh
man, especially when it is "la patrie"
witli the tight kind of food.
1 mused. There is one of the.e ideal
little hotels In the very shadow of Alx-
s-lf.iln-. but undH. imed of by the
moiidalns who annually flock there
There Is another almost within slclit of
IViluvllle that the clowd which fre
quents the Hue Gont.lUt-lllron little
recks of. From half a dozen you might
almost sight the Eiffel Tower, o near
are they to Paris. A few lie snuggled
In tlie liivlera kiekgroiind, and tlare
are others down Hordeaux way.
ought I to give tne secret away ;
Cheap Living at Antioch.
THE Inflated price of his majesty
the tin key has no terror for the
inhuhitnnnx or Antlocn in Myria.
To be sure they have no Thanksgiving
feast to wony about, but on the other
hand life can be one long fowl ftnst for
them the year round If they so desire.
Vou can buy pullets und chicki ns for S
cents apiece. Eggs are 4 cents a dozen,
while mutton nnd lamb sell for 3 cents
pound.
These facts about the low cost of
living were learned from a young Eng
lishman who had been ordered by hit
physician to spend the winter away
from the cold and fog of his native Lon
don. He decided to try Antloch,
This Englishman lived In the lap of
luxury In Antloch for $.ri a week, He
rented a fine house for something less
than a month and he kept three ser
vants who were satisfied to work for 5
cent fi Week.
Throughout the winter months fresh
fruit and vegetables are ho cheap that
they are not sold In fixed quantities.
You merely pay a quarter n week an4
this gets you all the fruit and vegctubloi
for your household needs.
This Englishman's nearest neighbors
were an American fumlly who had beea
living in Antloch for several years. They
had all tho comforts of life and their ex
penwes were less than tlMiO a year.
noieuer s ncau naianicii wnere 11 won i
fly off nnd his feet cemented to the
right sort of a foundation; maybe
then the Club des Cent will open Its
'I.lvre d'oi' of information to tie tuiir-
..... . .11.. i ... . ... . i. .. . i. ,
lllK pnouc, hoi 101 ill)' ne.-i -in -u
and lie tapped bis smiling lips with a
linger, and added; "This Is i.a l a
patriotic mission; we are but strength
ening the defences of our country, and
(hlu iw u'niL' tli. i, lu tinblUlie.l